Gov. Chris Christie, who heads to Mexico tomorrow for a trade mission, has no events today on his public schedule.

The Revel casino in Atlantic City closed down at 5 a.m. Showboat closed Sunday. Trump Plaza closes in two weeks.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney attends an event marking the first day of school for the new South Hunterdon Regional School District, 4 p.m. at Lambertville Public School. Lambertville, Stockton and West Amwell have merged their elementary schools into one district; they already shared South Hunterdon Regional High School.

Sen. Ronald Rice and Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, the co-chairs of the Joint Committee on the Public Schools, conduct a public hearing about the problems with enrollment under the Newark schools' reorganization plan, 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers in Newark City Hall. Students start school on Thursday.

Tom MacArthur, the Republican nominee for the U.S. House in the 3rd Congressional District, receives a labor union's endorsement at a 10 a.m. news conference at the Golden Dawn Diner in Edgewater Park.

Statehouse Reporter:
Michael Symons is one of the longest-tenured reporters currently covering New Jersey politics from the Statehouse in Trenton, an assignment that has spanned six governors – though because it’s been a particularly tumultuous era, that’s actually only been since 2000. Before being assigned to Trenton, where his specialties include the state budget, Michael worked at the Home News Tribune (back when it had an ampersand in its name) and one of its predecessors, The News Tribune. He’s a lifelong New Jerseyan, raised in North Arlington in Bergen County and currently living in East Amwell in Hunterdon County, with a stop in between to graduate from Rutgers University in New Brunswick in 1993. Michael is co-author of the first biography of Gov. Chris Christie, ""Chris Christie: The Inside Story of His Rise to Power,"" published in 2012 by St. Martin’s Press. He has appeared on national television outlets such as MSNBC and C-SPAN, is a regular guest on NJTV’s public-affairs program Reporters Roundtable and has been interviewed on radio stations in New Jersey and around the country. In 2008, he created a state politics blog, Capitol Quickies, that continues to provide news and not-quite-news about New Jersey, its politics and government, including a daily scene-setter of the state’s political calendar. He’s on Twitter at @MichaelSymons_, where every week he receives inquiries about cooking he’s ill-equipped to answer from people hoping to connect with the similarly named Iron Chef star.